Running the Numbers (23 page)

Blake sat up and straightened his tie. “Lovely. Send her in, please.”

Kennedy nodded and disappeared.

Nina entered seconds later, closing the door behind her and shuffling over to take a seat opposite Blake.

He checked his notes and dove right in. “Good morning, Nina. I just have a quick question for you.”

“Of course, hon. You go on and ask anything you need to.”

Right. He thought carefully on how to phrase the questions so he’d garner more information than he gave away. “Amanda mentioned being in Duncan’s office a while back. This would’ve been shortly after I was hired. You weren’t at your desk at the time. Something about going out for coffee?”

Nina nodded seriously. “That’s right. The coffeemaker upstairs went kaput, and Duncan was out. I knew he’d want a cup when he returned, so out I went to get him some from Pearl Street Bagels just down the road here. Have you been yet? They’re fabulous. I could take you some time.” She laughed and covered her heart with her hand. “Oh, but what am I thinking? You’ve got better offers than that, I bet.”

Then she winked.

Blake longed to whack his head onto his desk again. Instead, he smiled benignly. “That’ll be all, Nina. Thanks.”

“You sure?” True concern scrunched her features. “Nothing went missing, did it? Mr. Perry’s got some nice things upstairs. Antiques and such.”

Blake gave her a reassuring smile. “Of course not. We’re just trying to pin down some missing paperwork.” In a manner of speaking.

She left and Blake rubbed the nape of his neck.

So far, he’d confirmed Duncan’s office had been left unattended for a short time, meaning potential access to any number of company portals. The money could’ve bounced around from account to account and, in such small increments, it’d never get noticed. He had Amanda at the scene, and Amanda put Wes there. Blake needed something to give and break the case, because the paper trail had seemingly dead-ended.

Unfortunately, it stopped in exactly the right place to implicate Amanda. The more the evidence pointed to her, the more certain Blake became that it was intentional. Then again, the money never lied. And it definitely didn’t disappear without a trace. Yet, no withdrawals matching the missing funds were in any of the balance sheets or reports he’d gone over so far.

By the time Wes arrived for his turn at questioning late in the afternoon, Blake had a headache blooming in his left temple, and the numbers on the numerous printouts he doggedly perused had blurred into a mass of sticks and squiggles, no longer holding meaning.

Wes wore an amused smirk.

Did he know why he’d been asked to Blake’s office? Perhaps the time had come for laying out the cards. Blake didn’t have the time or, frankly, the inclination to get prior approval from Duncan or Mrs. Avery.

He sat forward and clasped his hands together, studying Wes over the ridge of his interlaced fingers. “I don’t find much funny about embezzlement, personally.” He shrugged. “But if it amuses you, I’d like to hear more.”

The asinine smile fell away. Wes’s throat bobbed with a great nervous swallow. “I-I thought this was about Sadie.” He leaned toward Blake, suddenly nervous and unsure. “You’re saying someone is stealing from Avery & Thorp? That’s…” His eyes widened, and he glanced beyond Blake at the far wall. “That’s absurd. There’s not a single person I would point the finger at.” He blinked rapidly and met Blake’s gaze once again.

Blake nodded solemnly. “That’s part of the problem. No one seems to have a personal financial motive, and the paper trails dead-ends in a… Well, we’ll call it an unlikely location, more apt to be a red herring than a true indication of who’s responsible. For some reason, Amanda’s being targeted as the culprit.” Blake watched Wes carefully for his reaction.

He squinted in concentration, then snapped his fingers and sat back as though he’d managed to figure it all out in three seconds of passing consideration. “Sadie,” he said simply.

Blake didn’t laugh, but he did sigh. “I doubt it.”

“Why? Because you’re into her?” Wes’s eyes were like pools of tar.

Blake didn’t know how Sadie could’ve stood a relationship with this guy, when mere eye contact elicited an
ew
from Blake’s inner voice. “It’s not for you to question the audit director, Mr. Black.”

Wes blinked and backed down, glancing sheepishly at Blake’s desk.

Nothing like pulling rank to remind a mere accountant where he sat on the totem pole. “I understand you were in Mr. Perry’s office during a time when he was not. Nina was also not at her desk. May I ask what you were doing?”

Again, Wes swallowed nervously. “It’s not what it looks like. I wasn’t alone—”

“I’m aware Amanda entered the office behind you. And what it looks like doesn’t concern me nearly as much as what it actually was.” He stared at Wes, openly waiting for an explanation.

Wes licked his lips. “Fine. I was looking for clues, okay? It was right after Duncan announced his resignation and the Castley account was assigned to Catalina. This was maybe a week or two later. I didn’t exactly mark it in my planner. Everyone was off to lunch, and I took a peek while Duncan was out to see if he’d made some note of possible candidates. I only wanted to know if I’d made the list.”

Blake cocked an eyebrow. “Find anything useful?” He was playing hardball, but he had a sinking feeling in his gut Wes was telling the truth.

Wes inhaled deeply, stood, and pulled his wallet from the back pocket of his slacks. From it, he withdrew a tiny folded yellow note. He handed it over to Blake and sat again.

Three names, copied in Wes’s looping style of writing.

“Congratulations,” Blake offered, dropping the tiny note on his desk as though it meant nothing. Which it didn’t. It had no bearing on the missing money. “You must’ve been thrilled.”

“I owe you a certain level of respect, but don’t patronize me, Mr. Cobb. You aren’t happy for me. I’m sure you feel Sadie was more deserving than me.” He looked somewhat put-out that he didn’t have Blake’s vote.

Time for a slight change in subject. “You said you thought this meeting had to do with Sadie. Elaborate on that.” A personal matter, Blake didn’t have the power to force Wes to explain a thing. However, the old adage went to walk into a room like you owned it—the same could be said for discussions. Blake assumed the information was his due.

Wes swallowed again. A lot of nerves for a guy Blake presumed innocent. He might need to reassess. “She may have mentioned to you that I said something about how I’ve seen you visiting her outside of work. At all sorts of odd hours.”

Blake drummed his fingers lazily across his desk. “You’re following her?”

A hint of shame crept into Wes’s features. “I recently moved into the same apartment complex. I haven’t told anyone. You’ll have noticed they’re not the nicest in town. Anyway, my living room view is of the parking lot. Sadie’s car.” He raised his gaze to meet Blake’s squarely. “And yours, every time you drop by.”

Blake smiled cordially. “That’ll be all, Wes.”

Wes offered Blake a wry, flat stare as he stood. He looked like he might throw one last comment over his shoulder as he walked out, but Amanda stormed in a second before he reached the door.

Her wild eyes were alight with an inner fire Blake had seen a time or two now. He braced for impact.

Fists clenched tightly at her sides, her rigid jaw hardly moved when she spoke. “A word, Mr. Cobb.” Today, she wore a silvery body-hugging dress that stopped a fraction above her ankles, with a deep slit cut up the back, allowing her to walk. The casual T-shirt-style neck and sleeves kept it from looking like a ball gown, but it still gave the impression of unnatural height, and the heavy collection of bangles on her thin arms gave a touch of sophisticated power and dominance.

Like Quinn, she could own a room with her sense of style. Unlike Quinn, she didn’t hide her anger behind a poised, stony glare that gave little away. No, Amanda’s anger manifested as a warhorse she then mounted and rode to meet the enemy.

Wes’s face had frozen in unveiled anticipation, black eyes darting between Blake and Amanda, eyebrows raised.

Blake pointed toward the door. “Good talk, Wes. I’ll let you know if I need any further information from you.”

Wes left, and Blake took the few seconds of distraction to contemplate his odds of survival in the next sixty seconds. Judging by the plumes shooting from Amanda’s ears and her flared nostrils, they weren’t looking too great. He should’ve updated his will last year when Quinn suggested it.

* * * *

Sadie wouldn’t lie to herself and pretend she hadn’t expected Blake’s stiff, overly formal visit to her office. She’d actually been on her way to explain and apologize when Kennedy had informed her he was doing regulation auditing interviews. She doubted Kennedy knew what was really going on and didn’t tempt fate by enlightening her. She’d already screwed up, letting Amanda figure out Blake had told her about the embezzlement scheme.

Another item on the list of perfectly legitimate reasons he had to glare at her stonily as he entered and closed the door behind himself. He didn’t sit when she indicated a chair. He stood, hands clasped behind his back, those gorgeous hazel eyes pinned on her.

His ire enticed a low heat to sweep through her belly. She licked her lips. She couldn’t tell him to stop regarding her like a displeased sovereign lord because it was turning her on.

Could she? She scooted up her to desk and eyed him head-on. “I’m sorry.”

That seemed to do the trick, at least momentarily, as the fierce expression faded. “What?”

“I said I’m sorry. What, you’ve never heard an apology before?”

She guessed not, given the last few women in his life. From what she’d heard of Quinn, the woman had her pride. Probably wasn’t easy to wrangle humility out of someone beloved by the whole country—Sadie included. She had a few Clementine Hazel novels sitting on her bookshelf at home. As for Kira, she didn’t sound like the kind of person who was ever actually remorseful enough to apologize, the kind of person with a hazy excuse for everything.

Blake’s green and brown gaze scrutinized her deeper than they ever had, raking over her face like they were trying to find something. They were so vividly bright, the kind of hazel that made her want to contemplate the actual numerical ratio of jade to gold.

The connection hit Sadie. “She named herself after your eyes. Clementine Hazel.”

He tilted his head, as though surprised with the turn in conversation. “Seth’s, actually. When he was tiny, they were as green as hers. Her first attempts at a writing career were under the name Clementine Green.”

Sadie frowned. “Doesn’t quite have the same ring, does it?”

Blake glanced at the floor and back at Sadie. “You had no right to tell Amanda about my past with Quinn. Or Kira. Or Emily,” he added pointedly, driving home each name like a nail.

She closed her eyes and let her head hang. “I know. I know and I’m so sorry, Blake. You’ll never, ever believe me, but I thought I was helping. I stupidly assumed you’d told her. I only intended to explain that I think you’re a good person trying to make up for bad decisions you made a long time ago. You’re just…” She looked at him, trying to figure out how to say it right this time. “You’re a good man, Blake. Your heart’s where it’s supposed to be, and I wish you could see that that’s enough.”

He took a few strides forward. His stance had relaxed, his hands no longer bound tightly behind his back but set loosely in the pockets of his slacks. He glanced at her from beneath enviable long lashes. “If you’re wondering why I think I’m in love with you, you’re welcome to repeat everything you just said.”

The warmth of long-buried feelings and the heat of bone-deep attraction had her feeling like she’d stepped into a sauna. She couldn’t seem to see past Blake’s mouth, her thumb itching to tug his bottom lip to hers, especially with words like
love
slipping from between them so casually sincere. Sadie groaned and shook her head. “Gah, you’re stupidly good-looking. It pisses me off. I can’t tell whether I’m feeling emotions, or just a physical reaction to your perfect jawline.”

He laughed and cast a shy glance at the floor. “It can’t be both?”

“Stop smiling,” she demanded, unamused. “You’re making it worse.”

His smile widened. Then he did the thing men do where they open their mouths and ruin everything. “Amanda caught you going through Wes’s office.” His raised eyebrows invited an explanation.

Abashed, Sadie took a deep breath. “You’re clearly not looking into him as a suspect. What harm is there in me poking around?”

His face grew solemn, the smile but a remnant. This was Blake the audit director. “A good deal of harm can come from a vigilante approach. If I were interested in you as the embezzler, I’d have to consider you planted any evidence I happened to find. You have motive, and now you’ve had opportunity. I don’t believe it, but Mrs. Avery’s not interested in my gut feelings. It’s even more difficult to take you seriously since you and Wes are pointing the finger at each other.”

Her hand shot up. “Hold on, hold on. I thought this was all hush-hush.”

Blake shrugged. “I made an executive decision.” The lines of his face seemed to morph into granite as his gaze hardened. “Sadie, my personal feelings aside, I’m warning you. Do not impede my investigation. You’ll make yourself look guilty and, by my favoritism, you’ll implicate me as well. I wouldn’t put it past Mrs. Avery to believe I’d shield you if I thought you were responsible.”

The suggestion stunned her. “You wouldn’t do that.”

The granite softened, but his steady stare became more intense, like a fire burned behind his green-gold irises. “Truthfully? I don’t know what I wouldn’t do for you, Sadie.”

Sadie stood, wineglass held aloft like a queen’s scepter, and addressed her subjects. “No judgment, no harassment, no rude remarks, and the first person to call me a home-wrecker gets the boot.” She glared expectantly from Kennedy to Nina. “Are we clear?”

They glanced at one another before looking back at Sadie and nodding, Kennedy’s obviously perfunctory agreement accompanied by an eye roll.